Simple Faith

Guest (Male): That Bible of yours, what does it mean in your life? Here's something to consider from Pastor Bill Henry.

Bill Henry: Man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Guys and gals, listen today, learn, and if you haven't learned this, remember the power that is found in the word of God. The almighty power that is found in the word of God.

You see, we see this here in example of prophecies of things that are coming, that we have great power available to us through the word of God by the Holy Spirit of God. Why do you think the enemy attacks the Bible so much, but no other false book of any other false religion? Because it is true.

Guest (Male): Hello and welcome once again to Simple Faith with Pastor Bill Henry from Simple Faith Calvary Chapel. Today, we'll wrap up Pastor Bill's study in Revelation 19. We've spent quite a bit of time here and for good reason. The events we see John describe here are going to happen, and we must acknowledge that fact and be prepared for the Lord's soon coming.

Those who experience the death, destruction, and pain we see here should take these verses as a warning and an opportunity to receive salvation through Christ. Here's Pastor Bill Henry with today's message.

Bill Henry: You see, guys and gals, this is how we go to hell. We continue on our own selfish, self-minded way. Because you see, this isn't saying that if you do those things you're going to heaven, which some falsely translate that as or apply it as. No, no, no.

Jesus is basically saying that once you've been saved by the grace of God through faith, once you've been forgiven of your sins and cleansed of your sins, you're going to have such a great love. He who has been forgiven much, Jesus said, loves much. You're going to have such a great love for God that guess what? You're now going to bear fruit in keeping with your repentance.

You're going to bear fruit in keeping with your profession that you're a Christian. You're going to have works that glorify God. You're going to be the one who's going around and you see a stranger and they're hungry and you give them food. You're going to be the one who sees someone thirsty and give them drink in the name of Jesus.

You're going to see someone who doesn't have clothes and you're going to give them clothing in the name of Jesus. You're going to welcome people into your home in the name of Jesus. You're going to visit people who are sick and in prison in the name of Jesus.

But wait a minute, Pastor Bill. That's why you and Pastor J get paid the big bucks. You're supposed to go do that for us. You're our pastors. You go do it. No, no, no. Not so. Don't be fooled. These are things that you and I are supposed to be doing.

It's one of the worst things about what's called a social gospel today, where the church—let's gather together this Saturday, we're going to go out and we're all going to go feed the poor. We're going to do it as a church. Well, okay, my church is doing that, so I don't have to do it. Oh, wait a minute. Jesus isn't talking to the church in general. He's talking to people in person.

Look, guys and gals, you and I, because of the Holy Spirit now dwelling within us, we should be going and feeding the hungry. We should be giving to those who are thirsty, visiting those who are in prison and who are sick. When did it ever become okay not to do these things as Christians? I don't get it.

I know it's been harder after COVID, right? All of a sudden, and I think that was one of the most demonic things about COVID, that you're told you can't go visit the sick. You're told you can't go visit those in prison. So, you have these people, family members, dying alone. That's demonic.

I remember I told Talia, you need to pray because if any one of you or the kids or my mom or somebody I love is in a hospital and they tell me I can't see them, they're going to have to get quite a few policemen to keep me away and put me in prison because I will not let you die alone.

Look, guys and gals, there are a lot of people out there that don't have people who love them, but you and I can love them with the gospel of Jesus Christ. I visited one time, Talia and I, a guy. He was like 92 years old. He'd been in the Navy, World War II, all these different things, not a Christian. God opened the door so radically. He became a Christian and died a few months later.

Not because Talia and I are so great. No, we're just a couple of boneheads trying to love people for Jesus. Any other boneheads out here for Jesus? Look, go out and do it. I know it's harder in the days that we're living in. I know it's hard. You see people that are homeless today.

I've talked to people in homeless ministries in Portland because we're like, how can we help? They're like, we don't even know anymore. And this was real. They're like, we don't know anymore because 98% of the people there want to be on the streets. They don't want your help.

In almost anything you give them, they're going to take it and try to sell it to get drugs or get booze. They're getting free food from Portland or whatever. But guys and gals, please don't let that harden our hearts.

I think a great idea, I heard it once, just carry a few bags in your car. In the bag, have a couple of waters, have a couple of granola bars, have a few other things like some cleaning towels, have some gospel tracts and a Bible. Just say, hey, in the name of Jesus, I don't have a lot, but here, take this.

Can I help you in another way? And they'll say, oh, no, no, no. Sometimes they'll even say, no, I don't want this, just give me money. It doesn't matter. Try to bless them. Do things. Go out of your way because again, this is the Holy Spirit living within us.

Don't let the lawless days that we're in, as Jesus said, make your love for others wax cold. Man, the world needs us more than ever. By the way, don't just do this without bringing up the name of Jesus.

You see somebody off the side of the road they need help changing a tire. Why are you doing this? Oh, because I love Jesus. Even if they don't ask why you're doing it, just say, hey, Jesus loves you, man. Have you heard the gospel as you're helping them? It's okay.

Well, I'm not like you. I'm not like that either. I'm not an evangelist. I know people who are just, but you do the work of evangelism. You throw the seeds out there. Oh, praise the Lord. Isn't He good? Jesus is so good. You know Jesus died for us. Isn't that awesome? Maybe you're just planting a seed.

But do these things in the name of Jesus Christ. These are those who are His kids, putting rubber to our faith. The rubber on the road. Now, let's go back to verse 21 and see a further example of the omnipotence of Jesus Christ. Look at verse 21, "And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse."

Guys, that's the battle. That's the Battle of Armageddon. You want to see a movie on this, it could be 10 minutes long. Here's the two they're captured, Jesus coming back, they're captured. Here's the rest of the army. All right, here comes the huge battle scene.

No huge battle scene. The rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. Remember, there's only two guys captured. The rest, the millions and billions, were killed with the sword which proceeds from the mouth.

Do you know what that sword is? That sword is the word of God. Do you know how powerful the word of God is? Do we understand? It's like, what do you mean? I've even heard Christians, I mean like I'm talking really intelligent Christians who've written tons of books and guys that are great.

They say, well, I believe in theistic evolution, that evolution actually happened over millions and billions of years and God just kind of guided it. What do you do with the beginning of Genesis, the first few chapters? Well, it kind of could have been, but each day represents millennia and millions and billions. No.

You see, if you discount the beginning of the Book of Genesis, then you discount everything else that happens in the rest of the Bible because you discount the power of the word of God. What do I mean? Let's turn to Genesis Chapter 1. You're going to see what I mean.

You may not have seen it in this light before, but this is so awesome. Genesis Chapter 1, starting in verse 1. All the way to the beginning of your Bible. Starting in verse 1. Now we're going to go look over several passages here.

So we're talking about the word of God, how powerful God's word is. Verse 1, Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."

Notice verse 3, "Then God said, 'Let there be light.'" What was there? There was light. Anybody else, can you say, "let there be light," and it happens? Anybody? I mean, I might have somebody hiding in the back and say, "Hey, let there be light," and somebody flicks a switch.

That's not what we're talking about here. God said it, and the universe is now leaping into existence. Look at verse 6, "Then God said, 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.' Thus God made the firmament and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament."

And guess what does it say? It was so. Look at verse 9, "Then God said," notice it starts with that, then God said, then God spoke, "'Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let dry land appear.'" And it was so.

Verse 11, "Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth.'" And it was so. It was so.

Then God said, verse 14, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs and seasons and for days and years, and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth." And it was so. It was so.

Genesis 1:20, "Then God said, 'Let the waters abound with abundance, living creatures.'" It goes on in verse 21, God saw it was good. 1:24, "Then God said." End of the verse, "it was so." 1:26, "Then God said." And then verse 27, "God created, God blessed, God said to them." Verse 29, "God said." At the end of verse 30, "it was so."

When God speaks, it happens. It's not like God has to sit there and work His way up to it. This is it, dude. This is how mighty, this is how powerful God is. Turn with me please to John Chapter 1, John 1:1-5. In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God.

Notice Jesus wasn't created, He was there. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

Then look at verse 14, "And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." The word of God, Jesus Christ incarnate.

In Matthew 4:4, Jesus said He answered, "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." And He's quoting from Deuteronomy Chapter 8.

It says, "and He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that every man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

So these people that will be there in Armageddon, in this valley of Megiddo, to fight against God, their very beings are being held together by the word of God. Do you know there's something that scientists call the atomic glue? Have you heard of this?

Because the cells within us, and you go deeper and deeper, and you'll see that the protons should actually be going out from one another. They can't explain why they're not. They call it some atomic glue that holds it. That is the word of God, holding all things together.

Guys and gals, listen today, learn, and if you haven't learned this, remember the power that is found in the word of God. The almighty power that is found in the word of God.

You see, we see this here in example of prophecies of things that are coming, that we have great power available to us through the word of God by the Holy Spirit of God. Why do you think the enemy attacks the Bible so much, but no other false book of any other false religion? Because it is true.

Even within the churches, as we've talked about before, it's belittled, it's not taught. I had somebody just last service. I went to this church, this big church in the area for 13, 14 years, and I haven't heard the Bible taught like we're teaching it here.

Well, we're nobody special. We're just teaching God's word. This is special. He is special. His word is special and it's available to each one of us. His power that He speaks forth, and all of a sudden these millions of people, these millions of men and women, just they're wiped out, they're dead.

This same power is available to you and I today. You know, it's sad, there are so many Christians today so many are afraid. It's so sad. And to be honest with you, I understand. There's a lot of stuff to be afraid of.

Even again, or talking about another thing of COVID. I went, we had the babies, so we're going into the hospital. They've got all these free masks for you to take and to go use and it's like, oh, go away. Just go away.

They're telling you to be afraid of monkeypox now and to be afraid of this person or that person, this politic or that politic. Be afraid, be very afraid. You know, back in Orange County, California, they had Mary Anne Gabibi. I don't know if you remember her.

She was for Not Scary Farm. I never liked that stuff, but Mary Anne Gabibi, you know, "be afraid, be very afraid." And that's what people try to do to scare you. By the way, if you're into horror movies and stuff like that, don't watch them anymore.

You don't need to be scared by that junk anymore. It's all a bunch of junk. Look, guys and gals, we need to remember who we are. Do you understand that the omnipotent God that is living within you has also given you and I the word of God?

So that when temptations come our way, if we remember the word of God and speak the word of God, guess what? There's power in those words because it's God's words, not our words. I might not be a smart man, but I know what the Bible says. I know what God says. And God says nothing formed can stand against me.

And a lot of Christians, they get scared. Oh, there's demons in my house. Well, and I believe in demons, by the way. They're real, they're fallen angels. We call them demons, evil spirits. The Bible calls them demons.

They're real, but why are you afraid? Oh, they're powerful, they're more powerful. They are more powerful than us. I grant you that. But guess what? They're not more powerful than Jesus. And where's Jesus, by the way, right now?

Oh yeah, He's in here. He's all around, by the way. He's omnipotent, He's omnipresent, He's everywhere. So don't be afraid. Don't be afraid of demons. Don't be afraid of those who can take our lives, those who can take our houses, those who can take our jobs.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind. How do we have that? We come back to the word of God. What do we do in the days that we're in? We stand in the word of God.

Turn with me as we're getting ready to close to Ephesians Chapter 6. I love this. How do we stand in these last days? And most of you are familiar with this. I was told years ago by some good friends of mine, Paul and Art, to memorize the armor of God.

Notice here in Ephesians 6:10-18. Notice he says, Ephesians 6:10, "Finally, my brethren, be weak in the Lord." Oh wait, that's not what it says. "Be weak in the Lord and in the weakness of His might." No. Be strong in the Lord.

And again, notice it's don't be strong in yourself. "Well, I can do it. I'm a man. I'm rough, I'm tough." No. Brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God.

Again, remember this is God's armor, it's not yours. If it was my armor, I'd tweak it. Amen? I'd forget a piece here or there. Where'd I put that helmet of salvation? Where did that go? I don't know. It's God's armor. It's all-powerful armor.

That you may be able to what? Stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, against rulers, the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Hey, is the "left" going crazy today? They're going nuts today. But you know what? Believe it or not, yes, we stand up and vote. Don't ever mishear me on this. I think we're to stand up and be the light.

But just remember, even though we stand up against, the true battle is on our knees. It's a spiritual battle first and foremost. Then you go do the other stuff. All this stuff, right? But here's the thing. Notice again, verse 13.

"Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all to stand." Anybody see a little theme there about standing and withstanding and being look here, anybody see, by the way, notice "to be able to withstand in the evil day."

Anybody see the evil of these days? Anybody? Am I the only one? Look, dude. If we ever should be doing all that we can do, notice, "having done all to stand." So many, by the way, are falling by the way. So many Christians are falling by the way.

Why? Because they haven't done everything to stand. How do we stand? We only can stand firmly upon the word of God. In Matthew Chapter 7, Jesus said, "Look, it's not just he who hears my word, but he who does it. That's the wise man, that's the wise woman. That's where the house will stand when those storms come."

Do everything that is in the word of God. God's word is power. Verse 14, "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one."

"Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Do you know your Bible? Look, I love electronics, dude. I ever since they came out, I was even in high school back in the late 70s. I'm an old fart, that's okay.

I was president of the Math and Computer Club. I love computers, I love all electronics, just so fun. But you know what? I will never not have a paper Bible. What is it? "Out of my cold dead hands," somebody once said about something else.

Have a Bible. Because you know what? A year or two ago, China outlawed all Bibles on your phones and tablets and computers, except ones that they've rewritten. But look at this. This is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Know your Bible. That's what I'm trying to say. Mark it up. Know where things are. You might not be able to memorize things, but also, hey, I remember that's right, oh, right. I might not remember the address, but I remember the neighborhood. Here it is.

And you get used to it and you know your sword. And it is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for the saints.

Hey, man, keep praying for each other. Keep praying for our brothers and sisters around the world. We're not alone here. This isn't it. We're not the last. This is Simple Faith Calvary Chapel. There are our brothers and sisters around the world.

Back to our text to close. Verse 21 finishes, "and all the birds were filled with their flesh." This whole valley will one day be filled with dead people. It's a tragic thing.

But we also remember that these are those who drank of the fornication of the woman and the beast. And the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

These are those who have completely rebelled against God. And these are those, by the way, who came out to a battlefield to fight against God. I pray, I pray that there's not one person hearing my voice today that will be here for this.

I pray that we're all taken up seven years before this in the rapture of the church. That you've repented of your sins, believed in Jesus Christ's death and His resurrection, believing Him to be your Lord and Savior and be born again of the Spirit of God and come into the family of God. Then we won't be here.

Guest (Male): This has been Simple Faith from Simple Faith Calvary Chapel in Vancouver, Washington. Today, we brought you a message from Pastor Bill from his new series in the Book of Revelation. If you'd like to hear today's message again or share it with someone, it's available at our website to either watch or listen, and you can actually download an audio MP3.

We have a large number of Pastor Bill's messages archived and you can find them all at simplefaith.org. That's simplefaith.org. And if you'd like to contact us, we'd love to hear from you. There's a tab at the top of our homepage where you can also send in a prayer request. Just click that "Contact Us" tab again at the top of the homepage.

And this month, when you support Simple Faith with a donation of any amount, we're going to send you a wonderful 365-day devotional book by Anne Graham Lotz titled *The Joy of My Heart*. Now, whether you make it an inspiring addition to your personal devotion time or a gift to encourage a friend or family member, we pray that this best-selling devotional study will draw each one of you closer to Jesus, rediscovering that His word is the joy of my heart.

It's a wonderful resource we're excited to send it to you, and it's yours for a donation of any amount this month. To donate, just go to simplefaith.org and click the "Give" tab. You can also call us at 833-BY-GRACE. That's 833-294-7223.

And if you prefer the U.S. mail, our mailing address is Post Office Box 55, Battle Ground, Washington, 98604. Here at Simple Faith Calvary Chapel, we have two services every Sunday morning at 9:00 and 10:45, and a great time of study in God's word Wednesday nights at 7:00 PM.

For more information and directions, go to simplefaith.org and you can also follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Thank you so much for joining us today. Be sure to join us next time as our series in Revelation continues here on Simple Faith with Pastor Bill Henry, brought to you by Simple Faith Calvary Chapel.